Trifecta Cookies

At some point in your life you are supposed to start learning from your mistakes. Your parents allow you to start screwing up…expecting you to learn from your experiences. My Mom decided to let me start this process a little too late I think. I know I was the first and I was the guinea pig so I don’t blame her (ok, maybe I do, but who doesn’t blame their Mom every now and then?)..but I think that is why I still have not figured out, that if it didn’t work out well the first time…it won’t do much better the second time. I think you should start learning these lessons much earlier then I did. That way, by the time you get to my age, you have it figured out.

When I was 16 and driving my Mom told me I was NOT allowed to go over to my boyfriend’s house after school. That I had to come STRAIGHT home (bold words are when she made the mom eyes and used the mom tone). So what did I do? Well I wanted to borrow my boyfriend’s letterman jacket. So I figured I would stop by for a split second, run in, grab it, and leave. Sounds like a solid plan right? His house was on the way home and it would only take 5 minutes. Well what do I do? I locked my keys in the car…with it running. Yes, I know, I am an genius idiot. So of course who has the spare? And who do I have to call and admit that I blatantly disobeyed? Ya, fun times. And then I got caught going over there two more times before I finally learned that lesson.

And then I got a little older and a little more rebellious and started sneaking out. I thought I was sooo smart. Except my mother started coming in my room, around 10 in the morning, yelling at me. Asking why I was sleeping so late and why are my eyes so red. She would make me sit up and look her in the eyes and then say “Jessie, DO NOT LIE TO ME. Are you doing drugs?”. Because apparently red eyes and a sleepy teenager pointed to drugs–don’t ask me, I didn’t write the handbook. At this point, I should have realized…hmm this whole sneaking out thing isn’t gonna end well. She knows something is up. But no, I figure I’ll just tell her I’m sick. A few more weeks go by of this…and then one night when I came home at around 3 in the morning I see the light on in my Dad’s office. And I think maybe I left it on. So I quietly sneak back in and into my room and start changing into my PJ’s…because I can’t sleep in what I was wearing because then they really will know. And guess who opens the door and flips on the light? My Dad. And there I am, completely naked with glitter and mascara all over my face (stop snickering, I know we all went through the glitter as eyeshadow stage). I made up some story about waking up and wanting to change my clothes…and he was so embarrassed he said “Oh..Uh. Ok.” and left. The next morning, I was grounded forever and all…but I still hadn’t learned my lesson. I did it a few more times, with horrible consequences, before I finally figured out I wasn’t doing myself any favors.

And these days, here I am. Old enough to go to war, to drink, and to vote. I’m married, pay my bills, and do all the grown up things my husband makes me do I should do. But I still have not started learning from my mistakes. For example, today I took out the garbage. And I know I bought the cheap bags and that they will tear if I fill them up too much. And last week I filled it up too much and it ripped on the way to the garbage can. So what do I do today? I pick up a full bag of garbage and think out loud “I should double bag this”. Do I do that? Of course not, instead I make a run for the garbage can… And what happens? It tears and trash goes everywhere. And my dog ate an eggshell before I could get to him and now I get to play poop patrol for the next few days to make sure he’s not dying. All because I can’t learn from my mistakes.

I made these cookies a couple weeks ago for my dear friend Mi’a. She is a cookie lover and I had been promising to make cookies for her for awhile. I knew, from past experience, that I should half the recipe because I would have too many leftover delicious cookies. But no, I tell myself to make the whole batch. That I will have some willpower this time and I will save the leftovers for Jorge. Instead, I made the whole batch and found myself eating them for breakfast, over the kitchen sink, in shame.

I really thought these cookies were fabulous. I loved that they are a trifecta of the three greatest cookies! They are a mix of peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and oatmeal cookies. I plan on making these over and over since they will travel well and are really fairly easy to put together!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat.

Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and set aside.

Cream together butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat to combine. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add in the flour and mix until combined. Stir in the oats and the chocolate chunks.

Refrigerate the dough overnight or up to 24 hours. Allow dough to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes prior to baking.

Scoop the dough with a medium cookie scoop (about two tablespoons) onto lined baking sheet about two inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes until golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes on baking sheet then move to a wire rack. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container.

Oh my gosh, your stories are so funny! I think I was 16 when my best friend and I thought we were soooooo smart and could totally otusmart our parents. Oh how wrong we were. It was an ugly summer 😉 I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies!!

I make a version of these called Team Cookies, because back in my sport playing days a teammmate’s mom used to bake up bucketfuls of these cookies for game days. You really can’t go wrong with chocolate, peanut butter and oats, they’re great cookies!

A reply to Nessie, who asked about a substitute for peanut butter. Use the same amount of another nut butter — almond butter would be delicious. (Unless, of course, your household has allergies to both peanuts and tree nuts…) Do NOT sub butter for peanut butter — you’ll just end up making really buttery oatmeal-chocolate cookies that will spread too much. good luck!

hahaha, firstly i love your story. i think we all lied at some point in our teenage years especially to our parents. there was always that one thing that you just HAD to do. but i can totally relate to you about not learning from your mistakes its like i forget or something, or just have grown to not care lol. anyway delicious looking cookies! i love a good cookie recipe, will bookmark this one. take care!

I made these on Saturday evening – and there were gone by mid-morning Sunday. They were SO good. Seriously, SO good! And easy too! I saw this recipe and thought, I HAVE to have them! I (unfortunately) did’t have any semi-sweet or dark chocolate – so I used regular milk chips instead, and while I’m sure better chocolate would’ve yielded even better results, they were still awesome!

Sorry Mel! I was never notified of your comment. There was an error with wordpress, but I have corrected it and the recipe is showing up correctly above! Hope you get a chance to make them…they are awesome!

I can’t wait to make these cookies! I found you from a link from Tracie Carlos on Facebook and I’m loving your blog. Thank you! Found an icing recipe to try, too…..still looking around, but had to say thanks!

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Hey there, I’m Jessica!

I am a trial & error, self taught, sugar addict who thankfully learned how to survive in the kitchen! I am also a wife and mama to twins Ellie & Lyla!